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Healthy school food delayed by bid protest

A proposal to bring fresh, healthy, locally produced food to San Francisco school kids ran into a roadblock when the losing bidder on the deal filed a protest, forcing the School Board to delay acton on the contract.

According to SFUSD bid documents, Revolution's price was $59,356 a day, and Preferred came in at $61,416. So not only was the local alternative better, it was cheaper.

Gentle Blythe, SFUSD spokesperson, could only say that a bid challenge had been filed, but since Preferred was the only other qualified bidder, it's pretty clear what happened.

Once a bid challenge is filed, the district has to suspend board approval of the deal and respond to the challenge, which Blythe said should only take a week or so. "We'd like to have this back on the board agenda by the end of December," she said, so fresh meals can start with the spring semester.